Agents of Olympus
by EmMarie96
Summary: Percy Jackson is an average 17 year old, living on his own in a small town. Everything is going great, until two rival organizations start vying for his membership. With Jupiter having money and power, and Olympus having hero status and morals, which side of the law will he choose? No gods.
1. The Letters

Percy Jackson was playing guitar on the corner of Main and Washington street, outside of the art supplies store. It was the middle of summer, and playing guitar there was Percy's routine every day. He would take requests from passers-by and always impressed them, and they would then drop some change into his open guitar case.

That day, though, was different. That day, a man came by and dropped not money, but a letter into the guitar case.

Even stranger, after the man had hurried off, a second man approached Percy's case and dropped another letter in.

He then strolled away.

Percy hadn't noticed the strange offerings, as he was intently focusing on playing a new song he had been working on.

The day went on, and as the sun started to go down, he started to pack up. As he collected the bills and change, he saw the two envelopes buried beneath the money. He had never gotten a letter in his case before, certainly not two. Puzzled, he picked them up, glanced them over, then pocketed them. He put his guitar into the case and headed towards the newspaper office.

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Percy stepped into the newspaper building at exactly 5:30.

"Hello!" he greeted Mr. Hermes, his boss.

"Hi kid, right on time," Mr. Hermes responded. "Now get to work!"

Percy ducked his head down and strolled over to his little desk. He sat down in his creaky office chair and flipped through the stack of potential stories he could cover. Two titles, "_String of Break-Ins on Main Street_," and "_Drug Ring Continues to Elude Law Enforcement_," caught his eye. He read through the first summary, and decided to keep his eye out for suspicious behavior tomorrow.

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It was midnight, and Percy tiredly walked up the stairs of his apartment building. He got to room 21B and unlocked the door.

It was the cheapest apartment in the town, and for good reason. It had only one bedroom, a bathroom, a small kitchen, and a tiny living room. The heating was always out, and the air-conditioning hardly ever worked. Dated wallpaper covered the walls of the living room.

He went inside, crossed the room, and immediately headed to the bathroom to shower. After he finished, he went to his bedroom, wanting to go to sleep immediately.

Suddenly, he remembered the letters. He pulled them out of his pocket and stared at them. He opened one and read it:

_Dear Mr. Jackson,_

_We have been observing you for quite some time, and have decided that you have the skills and assets we require for our line of work. We understand that you have a part time job, but are still short on cash. _

_Tomorrow at noon, we plan to make you an offer you can't refuse. You will meet me in the back room of the art store you play in front of. I will be wearing a business suit and carrying a leather briefcase. _

_More information will be provided to you then._

_Hoping to work with you soon,_

_Dionysus_

_Jupiter_

By now, Percy was thoroughly confused. He read through the second letter, which was much like the first:

_Dear Mr. Jackson,_

_We have been watching you for as long as the group _Jupiter_ has, and we are hoping to recruit you to our organization before they do. The benefits of our organization are far greater than theirs, and ours is much more legal. _

_If you would, could you please meet me in the front corner table of the art store you play in front of at 1:00? I will be wearing a business suit and carrying a briefcase. I'd like you to consider the offer I will make. _

_Thank you, and I hope to be working with you in the future._

_Sincerely,_

_Chiron_

_Olympus_

Puzzled, Percy put the letters back in his jacket pocket and hung it up. He then lay down on his bed, crossed his arms behind his head, and closed his eyes to think.

Eventually, he drifted off to sleep.

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**A/N**

**Well, thanks for reading!:) This is a story I wrote over a year ago. This wasn't intended to be PJatO, but I changed the names. I think my writing's improved since then, so I hope you don't think this story sucks!**

**Again, thanks for reading, please tell me what you think!:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	2. The Meetings

Percy kept glancing at his watch as he played guitar outside of the art store. Finally, at 11:55, he couldn't wait any longer. He packed his guitar up and slung it over his shoulder, then walked inside the store.

He headed towards the room in the back, but saw that it was marked _Employees Only._

_Like that's going to stop me,_ he thought to himself.

He took out a bobby pin from his back pocket and proceeded to pick the lock. The door swung open after a few seconds and he stepped inside. As specified in the letter, there was the man in the business suit with the briefcase.

"Well, it seems we were right about you," the man said.

"Who are you?" Percy asked. "And why did you want me to meet you here?"

"You can call me Dionysus," said the man. "Let's get down to business. Sit down, Percy."

Percy cautiously sat on the chair that he was offered, and crossed his arms on the table.

"Now," Dionysus stated, "we know that you work as an investigative reporter, and we've seen some of your work. We were all very impressed at your résumé. We also know that the school you go to is very expensive, and the newspaper business doesn't pay much."

"Now, for our proposition. I've decided to offer you a position in my operation. We need someone with inside information, someone who works closely with the cops and knows where they'll be. We also need someone inconspicuous, and what could be more inconspicuous than an innocent teenage reporter? We need someone like you. All we need right now is someone to run back and forth, a go-between. I know that you sit outside this store all day, and you have a lot of free time, so how about it Percy? We could use you, and you could use the money. Are you interested?"

Percy was trying to process all that information. People had been watching him? Since when? And how had he not noticed? What kind of operation could he be getting himself into? He really _could _use the money, but he wasn't sure how much trouble this could be for him. He decided to go with a safe answer.

"Well," Percy started slowly, " I'd like to know what exactly I'd be acting as a go-between for. I _could_ use the money, but isn't this a little risky for a kid like me? I'm only 17."

Dionysus almost smiled. "For now, I think the less you know about the packages the better. And risky for your age? You're not too young. In fact, most of the goods will be delivered and picked up by kids around your age, some even younger."

"Alright," Percy said, "but could you give me, say, 24 hours to think it over? It sounds like this is gonna be a pretty big thing, and I wanna think about it before I jump in."

"Of coursem " Dionysus replied. "Here's my personal number. Call me tomorrow with your decision."

He handed Percy a business card and stood up.

"I hope you'll make the right one, kid," he said, standing up and shaking Percy's hand. He opened the door, and gestured for Percy to walk out. Percy did, and he then heard the door close and lock behind him.

Percy checked his watch. 12:57. Realizing he had only 3 minutes until his next meeting, he dashed to the front of the store- only to crash straight into somebody.

"Hey, jerk!" an angry female voice shouted from the ground. "Watch it next time, you made me spill all this paint!"

"Sorry!" Percy hurriedly apologized, picking himself off the ground, then holding out a hand to help the girl up.

He saw that she was very pretty, about 16, with long, curly red hair and bright green eyes. She looked back at him and angrily swatted his hand away. She then got up unassisted and tried to mop up the spilled paint with a rag from her apron pocket.

"Here, let me help!" Percy pleaded, but the response was only another angry look from the girl.

"Get lost, moron!" she said hotly.

Percy thought his best move in this case would be to do as she asked then come back and apologize later, when she had cooled down. He regretfully walked away towards the front corner table of the store, where he could already see a second businessman waiting for him.

"Hello, Percy," the man said politely.

"Hi," Percy said, equally politely. "What should I call you?"

"My name is Chiron," the man said, shaking Percy's hand. "Would you please sit down?"

Percy did as he was asked, and sat in the chair opposite of the man.

"Well, Mr. Chiron. I assume you're here to make me an offer as well. Let's get to it," Percy said curtly.

"As well?" Chiron looked surprised. "You mean you've already met with someone else?"

"Thats right," Percy replied, "and now I'd like to know about the other 'organization' that's been stalking me."

"Well, I wouldn't quite call it 'stalking'- " Chiron said, starting to look uncomfortable.

"I would," Percy said flatly. "What do you people want with me? I'm already supposed to be involved with one shady business, and I'd rather not make it two."

"Please, just let me explain," Chiron said, holding up a hand to silence Percy. "My organization is far from shady. In fact, we're quite the opposite."

He took out an I.D. with a shiny gold badge next to it.

"Let me introduce myself a little more properly. My name is Detective Chiron, and I'd like to recruit you to Olympus's Young Agents division."

Percy was taken aback.

"Well, uh, Detective Chiron, what could I possibly do for you?"

The detective looked pleased.

"You see, Percy, during our time 'stalking' you, as you call it, we've seen the special skills you have. You're far more intelligent than average teenagers, you're quick on your feet, and your self-defense isn't too bad. On top of that, you've already gotten to know how the law works, investigating things for the paper and such. I know this sounds unbelievable, but we'd like to send you undercover on a special mission."

"What?!" Percy sputtered. "But, why me? I'm sure you have way more qualified people to do this."

"We do," said Detective Chiron, "but none of them meet one important requirement- they're all too old. As you've probably heard around the newspaper office, there's a drug-smuggling ring operating around these parts, and we just can't seem to infiltrate them. We've tried several times, but we haven't been able to get a man inside yet."

Percy's jaw dropped.

"We'd pay you for it, of course!" Chiron said hastily.

Percy smiled weakly. "No, it's not that, Detective. You're not gonna believe this, but about an hour ago, someone from the drug-smuggling ring approached me and offered me a job."

It was the Detective's turn for his jaw to drop.

"I told them I needed 24 hours to think about it, sir," Percy said. "I was going to say no, but now it looks like I'm going to be a double-agent."

The detective regained his composure, then said, "Well, this is definitely the break we needed. Congratulations, kid! You've managed to upstage the entire police department. So, will you work for us and go undercover?"

"Well, it's not like I have anything better to do this summer," Percy said casually, then grinned. "I'm in."

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That night back at his apartment, Percy pulled out Dionysus's business card and dialed the number.

"Hello?" Dionysus's voice came through the phone. "Percy?"

"Yes sir," Percy responded. "I've made my decision. Count me in."

"Excellent!" Dionysus replied sincerely. "Why don't you come by our headquarters tomorrow afternoon for initiation?"

"Uh, sure," Percy agreed. "What's the address?"

"Don't worry about it, someone will pick you up tomorrow at your usual hang out. Just be there at 10:30 sharp," Dionysus answered. "I'll see you then."

He hung up.

Percy took a deep breath. Then he texted detective Chiron about his conversation. A few minutes later, Chiron texted back, _Good work, kid. B careful, try 2 learn as much as u can._

Percy then erased both messages. As he lay in bed that night, he couldn't fall sleep. This was so exciting! It was going to be quite an adventure tomorrow, and a long day.

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**A/N**

**There's chapter 2. Hope you enjoyed!:) Please review!**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	3. The Initiation

Percy biked down to Washington street at 8:00 the next morning and stopped at the flower stand.

"Good morning!" he greeted Mrs. Persephone, the pretty young stand owner.

"Well, good morning, Percy! How are you today?" she replied happily.

"Excellent," Percy replied politely. "I'd like your opinion. What kind of flowers should I get for a perfect stranger I accidentally knocked over yesterday?"

"Oh, my!" Mrs. Persephone exclaimed. "Apology flowers. How fun! Well, if you'd just like to apologize and have that be the end of it, then I'd suggest daisies."

"And my other option would be...?" Percy prompted.

"Well," she said, with a twinkle in her eye. "If you'd like to see her again, then you should get carnations."

Percy smiled and said, "Alright then, ma'am. A dozen carnations it is!"

Mrs. Persephone exclaimed delightedly, then wrapped up one dozen pink and red carnations and handed them to Percy.

"$23.50," she said.

Percy paid for the flowers and thanked her, then got on his bike and rode away.

"Good luck!" he heard her call after him.

_Thanks,_ he thought, as he pedaled off._ I'm really going to need it..._

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He arrived in front of the art store at a quarter past eight.

"Hello," Percy practiced, clearing his throat. "Um, we kind of met yesterday, when I uh, knocked you down. Uh, sorry about that. And I, er, brought you these because you were cranky? And uh... Well... _Ugh!" _he stopped, frustrated that he couldn't find the right words. He looked down at the bouquet in his hands and sighed. He walked up to the door and pulled, then was puzzled to find it locked.

"Hey, you trying to rob my store too, jerk?" said an irritated voice behind him. He whirled around and saw the same girl from the day before. She was shorter than he remembered, which he found cute, but her face was turned up disdainfully at him and she was glaring, which he found unnerving.

"Oh, uh, hi!" Percy began. "Listen, I'm really sorry about the other day. I brought you these to make up for it! But the door was locked so I, uh... Well anyway, I brought you these!" He held the flowers towards her, with what he hoped was an apologetic smile.

She blinked in surprise, then her annoyed manner disappeared completely, and her face lit up with pleasure.

"Oh, wow, thanks so much!" she gushed. "You didn't have to, it was no big deal anyway, uh...?" she looked at him questioningly.

"Percy!" he supplied helpfully. "My name's Percy Jackson."

"Well, Percy, it's nice to properly meet you. My name's Rachel Dare," she said. "The store's locked because I won't be there to run it today."

"Oh, why not?" Percy asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"I've been running the shop by myself this summer, and since something came up last night I have an errand to run this afternoon. I only came by at all today because I forgot something in the back room," Rachel answered.

Suddenly, she glanced around nervously. "Hey Percy, it was nice talking to you, but I've really got to go now. Maybe I'll see you around, okay?" Then she tried to hurry past him into the store.

"Oh, okay," Percy said. Then he mustered up his courage, and stepped in front of her. "I'd really like to see you again though! Maybe tonight?"

"No!" Rachel said quickly, "Uh, not tonight."

She tried to step around him again.

"Wait, please," Percy pleaded, putting his hands on her shoulders. "What about tomorrow night? Or Wednesday? Please, just any day?"

Rachel smiled, relinquishing. "Alright, tomorrow night then. Pick me up at 6:30, here. Now, I've really got to go!" she said, taking his hands off her shoulders. Then she disappeared into the store.

Percy walked back to his bike with a huge smile on his face. He pedaled around town and let his thoughts wander until 10:20, then he headed back to the store. A black Mini Cooper pulled up at exactly 10:30, and the passenger window was rolled down.

"You the kid?" a voice asked.

"I guess so," answered Percy.

Suddenly, two men jumped out of the backseat and blindfolded Percy, tying his hands together. They shoved him into the backseat of the BMW, and the car sped away.

Percy's heart was pounding, and he was getting nervous. What had he gotten himself into?

They drove up a twisting, winding road. Percy could tell they were going up a mountain, as his ears kept popping. After about fifteen minutes, the car stopped, and he was led out of the car and up a flight of stairs. They untied his hands, then pushed him roughly into a room and closed the door.

He ripped off his blindfold and looked around. He was in a warehouse or factory of some sort. The room had hundreds of wooden crates stacked around the walls. In front of him stood Mr. Dionysus and three other people, teenagers, Percy guessed, from their posture. They were wearing long dark robes, so he couldn't distinguish whether they were male or female, and they each wore a masquerade mask that obscured their entire faces.

"Welcome!" said Mr. Dionysus. "I hope you had a good trip. I apologize for the blindfold, it's just a formality for the first visit until evaluation."

"It's really classy," Percy remarked, irritatedly.

One of the masked teenagers snickered, but was silenced at once by simultaneous glares from the others.

"This is our head of operations, Percy," Dionysus answered, ignoring the sarcasm. "You may come and go as you please after you are assessed, _if _you are accepted. You may even live here if you like, a room will be prepared."

"I thought I was just supposed to be a go-between," Percy protested.

"We have reviewed your file and we believe you could be ready to do more than that. Deliveries will still be your main job of course, but we may give you other duties," Dionysus said.

"Alright, sounds good," Percy said. "Will you raise my salary?"

"But of course!" Dionysus replied. "First of all, let's complete the assessment."

He gestured to the teen on the far left. "We shall begin now!"

The teen approached Percy.

"First test," Dionysus announced. "Self-defense skills!"

Suddenly, the teen struck out with a karate chop, and Percy barely had time to jump back, let alone impress Dionysus with a fancy block.

The first chop was quickly followed by several more jabs and kicks. Percy dodged and jumped back, avoiding the punches. Finally, the teen's blows started landing, first a kick to his knee, then he landed a punch squarely on Percy's jaw, sending him reeling back.

_Come on, pull yourself together,_ Percy told himself, trying to keep his balance. _You've beaten tougher kids than him, and you need to get into this organization!_

Percy then faked a left punch, then struck his opponent hard and fast in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. While he was recovering, Percy struck out with a karate chop to his shoulder, sending the teen down on his knees. The competitor raised his hands in surrender.

The sound of slow applause made Percy turn and face his small audience.

"Dionysus, I think we're done. This kid can fight," said the teen Percy had just beaten. He then took off his mask and proceeded to shake Percy's hand. "Just so you know, I was going easy on you. You won't beat me so easily next time," he said, with a good-natured smile. He was about a year younger than Percy, with a young-looking face, and close-cropped black hair and brown eyes, though he was tall and stocky.

Percy returned his firm handshake and jokingly said, "Don't count on it."

"By the way, I'm Frank Zhang," said the Asian teen. "I look forward to working with you!"

"Hold your horses, Frank," said Dionysus. "He needs to pass at least one more test today."

He turned to Percy. "I think I'll let _you_ chose your next opponent. "

The two remaining hooded kids walked up to Percy, and he studied them both carefully. He guessed the short one was a girl, and the tall one was a boy. He figured he wouldn't have to fight either of them, it would be a different sort of test this time. But what? He looked back and forth at them. Their hands were both dirty, the boy had black marks on his and the girl had brightly colored streaks on hers._ Marker maybe? _he thought. The girl seemed quite nervous. He decided to go with the boy.

"Him," he announced, pointing to the kid on the right.

"Alright," Dionysus announced. "This way to the shooting range."

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**A/N**

**Thanks for reading:) Please review.**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	4. The Shooting Range

"Wh-what?" Percy stuttered. "What are we going to do at the shooting range?"

"Don't worry," Dionysus chuckled. "You're not going to be shooting at each other. Just targets."

"Oh." Percy calmed down considerably. Then he glanced at his opponent, sizing him up. He realized that it must be gunpowder on his fingers.

"This is just a test to see how well you can handle a piece," Dionysus informed him. "In our line of work, there are certain... _Ahem_... _Situations,_ in which case you will need to know how to shoot straight."

Percy wondered exactly what kind of situation that might be. _What kind of criminals are these people?_

As they started walking down a hallway, Percy noticed that the girl fell behind, and quietly slipped into a side room.

The shooting range was an enormous room, with a dirt wall on one end. Several bulls-eye targets were in front of the wall. On the side of the room where they were standing, there were several booths equipped with goggles, earmuffs, and a small pistol.

"This test is pretty straightforward," Dionysus explained. "Just hit the targets as well as my little operative here," he gestured to the teen, "and then you're in. You'll shoot 3 rounds each."

Easy enough for Percy. He had been a member of a 4-H club when he was younger, and one of his favorite projects was Shooting Sports.

He stepped up to one of the booths, put on the protective gear, and picked up the gun. It was a small .32 caliber, just the size he was used to. He aligned the red arrow in the sight, and aimed for the bullseye. He took a deep breath and slowly pulled the trigger. The pistol recoiled sharply. Percy took aim and shot twice more.

Mr. Dionysus came up beside him and pressed a button on the remote control he held. The target zipped towards them.

"Not bad," Dionysus said, examining the target. "Not bad at all."

Pefcy had hit one bullseye, and the other two had made a diagonal line in the next circle. He felt satisfied that he had passed.

Then, the masked teenager stepped into his booth. He raised the gun and aimed for about 2 seconds, then squeezed off 3 quick rounds. Dionysus came up behind him and used the remote to bring the target in.

Percy couldn't believe his eyes. There was only one hole in the target, and it was in the exact center. All three bullets had passed through the same hole.

Dionysus smiled at Percy's shocked expression. "Don't worry, kid. I didn't expect you to do as well as he did, you're still in."

Relieved, Percy turned to face his opponent and held out a hand to shake. The other kid pulled off his mask and took his hand.

"Nice job, rookie. I'm Leo Valdez," said the teen, in a light Spanish accent. Percy could now see that he had curly dark brown hair and brown eyes, and was about a year younger than he was.

"Thanks," Percy replied. Then, he turned to face Dionysus. "Now what?" he asked.

"Well, now Frank and Leo can show you to your room and give you a tour," Dionysus answered. "Then you'd better get going, you don't wanna be late for your day job. The boys'll explain to you what your duties around here will be."

Then, Dionysus left the three teens alone.

Frank and Leo both grinned at Percy.

"Come on, we already fixed up a room for you," Frank said, leading the way down some stairs.

"Yeah, seriously, you will love it here," Leo added. "This is the sweetest gig ever!"

Percy smiled politely and followed.

They reached the bottom of the staircase and opened a set of metal doors. Percy gasped. It was like an underground mansion, complete with servants and a grand staircase.

"How many people are living here?" Percy asked in amazement.

"Pretty much just us, and a couple other adults," Frank answered. "But they don't bother us if we don't bother them. Every few days someone will come and spend a few nights, but they never stay long, and they never talk to us."

They took the stairs two at a time. On the second floor was a hallway with several doors.

"Here's yours!" Leo announced, pointing to a wooden door. "Sixth on the left!"

He opened it, and again Percy was left speechless. The room was huge. There was a four-poster canopy bed on one wall, an enormous fireplace on the other, and two huge windows with window seats. Against one wall were two bookcases filled with books that already looked interesting, but the best part was what was in the far corner. Three guitars in their stands were displayed, and Percy went over to them and picked one up, fingering the strings.

"So?" Frank asked, "How is it?"

"Seriously?" Percy answered. "This is amazing! Do I really get to live here?"

"Affirmative!" Leo replied. "We've sent some guys to pick up all your stuff from your apartment already. It'll be here by tonight."

The two boys plopped down on Percy's bed.

"Dionysus wanted us to explain everything to you, so listen up," Frank started. "This operation is very delicate. Using your connections at the newspaper, we want you to tell us when and where the cops are bringing in heavy security, anything like that, so we can avoid them."

"I just wanna clarify," Percy said. "This is the drug ring I read about in the papers, right? And I'm guessing you want me to do pick ups, drop-offs, collections, anything along those lines, and keep the cops off your case?"

The two boys glanced at each other.

"Uh, yeah, pretty much dude. In return you get free meals and board, plus a thousand bucks a week," Leo said. "You're gonna go with Frank tomorrow night on the first pick-up of this quarter. Then you'll be ready to go solo on runs."

"No problem. In exchange for all this, that seems more than fair," Percy responded.

"Great! Then lets go show you the rest of the house," Frank said brightly, hopping down from the bed. "I hope you can swim, because the pool is awesome!"

Percy laughed.

"Yeah, I can swim," he told them. "But by the way, what happened to the other kid? I think she was a girl?"

"Oh, her," Frank answered, frowning slightly. "Well, I guess you can meet her later. She might be in the rec room though, we can check if you want?"

Percy nodded, and they left his new room. As they went past the other open bedroom doors, Percy peered in and saw something that caught his eye. He stepped closer to the door and opened it wider. Yes, there it was. A bouquet of red and pink carnations that looked strangely familiar!

"Ahhh!" A girl's voice shrieked. "Get out of here!"

Immediately, Frank and Leo protectively pulled Percy away from the girls' room.

"Hey, you can't just burst in there like that!" Leo said irritably. "We're supposed to give her some privacy!"

"No," Percy protested. "I know her! I gave her those flowers this morning!"

Frank looked at him skeptically.

"Can he come in, Rachel?" he called through the door.

They heard a long, loud sigh.

"Fine."

Frank and Leo both nodded to Percy, and Percy re-entered the room.

It was cozy, painted a lime green, with purple and blue furniture. But what caught his eye was the wall right in front of him- it was made of canvas, and he saw Rachel in front of it, painting some sort of mural.

"Nobody's supposed to see it until it's finished," she said irritably. "You could have at_ least _knocked."

"Rachel!" Percy burst out. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm clearly painting a mural," she muttered dryly.

"No, I mean, are you a part of this thing too?" Percy asked in astonishment.

"Obviously," she responded. "And I'll honestly say that I'm sorry you're a part of it now, too."

"Why is that?" Percy questioned.

She sighed. "Because I've been here for eight months, from the beginning, and there's no way out."

"What do you mean, no way out?" Percy asked, "Like, they won't let you leave?"

"Nope," Rachel said bitterly. "I'm in too deep."

Percy frowned. "I'm sorry. Is there something I could do to help?"

"No," Rachel laughed softly. "It's not that bad, really. At least it keeps me away from my no-good parents."

"Did you live with them before this?" Percy asked.

Rachel turned away.

"Sorry... I don't want to talk about it," she mumbled.

"No, it's okay," Percy said quickly. "I shouldn't have pried."

Rachel turned back to face him and smiled once again. "Well, it's almost time for you to leave. Why don't I come with you guys and show your your last surprise?"

Percy and Rachel stepped out of her room.

"What took you guys so long?" Frank demanded protectively.

"And what were you doing in there?" Leo added suspiciously.

"Guys, chill!" Rachel said, lightly smacking the backs of their heads. "We were just talking. Percy's a friend."

The two boys grumbled.

"Come on, let's show Percy his new ride!" Rachel said, with a twinkle in her eye.

They walked down the grand staircase, back through the entrance doors. They walked back up to the front of the warehouse, where there was a large garage. Leo went up and entered a passcode, and the huge garage door opened.

"Take your pick!" Leo said, gesturing inside.

Six shiny new Mini Coopers gleamed in a row. Black, orange, white, blue, red, and green.

"Seriously?" Percy nearly shouted. "For real?"

"Yupp!" Frank announced happily. "The black one's mine, Leo's is the orange one, and Rachel's already taken the red one."

"No problem," Percy grinned. "I've always wanted a blue one!"

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**A/N**

**Hope you all liked it:) Thanks for reading!**

**Please review:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	5. Meeting the Good Guys

Percy parked on Main Street, a few blocks away from the address Chiron had given him, in front of a small bookstore.

He still couldn't believe his luck. A brand new Mini Cooper! His dreams had come true.

He glanced around and could see that he was still being tailed, as he had been since leaving Jupiter's headquarters. He got out of the car, making sure to lock it, then walked into the bookstore.

After waving hello to the store's owner, he headed straight for the back exit. He walked down the back alley of a row of shops, until he ended up in a small neighborhood. He found the address Chiron had given him, 24601 Park Lane, and rang the doorbell.

"It's open!" Detective Chiron's voice came from inside.

Percy opened the door, and stepped in. He saw Chiron sitting in a living room with two teenage boys and one girl. They all stood up and gathered around Percy.

"Hey!"

"How are are you?"

"So, it's Percy, isn't it?" came a barrage of voices, all trying to talk to him at once.

"Kids! Settle down," Chiron said to them. "Percy, have a seat. Were you followed here?"

"Nope," Percy said, "I made sure of it."

He then crossed the room and sat on the couch in the spot the teens had made for him, then they all looked expectantly at the detective.

"Good job. Percy, this is the Young Agents Division, also known as Olympus," Chiron informed him. "You guys will all be working together from now on. First of all, before we do anything, I want you all to know: You. Are. A._ Team_," he said emphatically, "And I want you to act like it. Stick with each other, and I want you all to look out for one another. Understand?"

They all nodded.

"Good, because I'm in charge of this division. The other members of the police department were against forming a group involving teenagers, so _I'm_ responsible for anything that happens to you. If you get hurt, it means a lot of paperwork for me, and I hate paperwork."

The three teens smiled, realizing he was kidding. Percy however, did not catch Chiron's joking tone, and nodded somberly.

"Okay, let's do some introductions," Chiron said. "I'll leave you kids to do that, and I'll go get us some lunch."

He picked up his keys from the coffee table, and headed out the door.

One of the boys and the girl immediately pounced on Percy again.

"Welcome!"

"This is gonna be great!"

"Settle down, guys," said the other teen, who was obviously the leader, as the boys went silent.

He was maybe an inch taller than Percy, with an average but built frame, blonde hair, and friendly blue eyes. He smiled warmly at Percy.

"Welcome!" he said to Percy, shaking his hand. "My name is Jason Grace. I'm sixteen, and my specialty is pretty much everything."

The other two teens laughed, as the girl stood. She was tall, with curly blonde hair, gray eyes, and a slight build, like a runner.

"I'm Annabeth Chase," she said, also shaking Percy's hand. "I'm seventeen, and my speciality is any and all technology."

Percy smiled at her, noting that she was very pretty.

The other boy stood up. He had bleached blonde hair, with hazel eyes and a wiry frame.

"And I'm Michael Yew," he announced, shaking Percy's hand, "I'm sixteen, and my spe-ci-a-lity is first aid and driving."

Percy finally found his voice.

"Oh," he cleared his throat, "I'm Percy Jackson, I'm seventeen, and my specialty is... Uh..."

"Hey, don't worry," Jason said. "We'll figure out what you're best at soon enough. For now, why don't you fill us in on how your initiation went? Then we can come up with a game plan."

Percy spent the next thirty minutes explaining everything he knew about the crime ring he had infiltrated that morning. He was almost at the end when Chiron came in, carrying several styrofoam cartons.

"All right!" Michael whooped, looking inside one of them. "Chinese food! Thanks, Chiron!"

The detective smiled. "No problem kids. I trust that you all know each other now and you know what kind of case this is?"

"Yes sir!" Jason said, with a mock salute.

"Excellent! Let's eat then," Chiron said.

As they opened up the styrofoam trays and plastic utensils, Percy finished his recap.

"And tomorrow night, I'm going to go with one of them on a drop-off run," he concluded, through a mouthful of fried rice.

"Perfect," Chiron said. "We'll get you a small recording device, and possibly a camera for you to document it. Annabeth, get on that!" he barked at the teen.

"Yes, sir!" Annabeth responded. "After I finish," she stuck out her tongue at Chiron.

"Of course, of course," the detective rolled his eyes. He turned back to Percy. "You were saying?"

"That's all I know," Percy said, then checked his watch. "I should probably get going; I need to be at the newspaper office."

"Sit down, kid," Detective Chiron, said as Percy rose. "I spoke with Mr. Hermes this morning and briefly explained the situation. He's gonna keep you on his list of employees so you can keep your cover looking legit, but you technically no longer work there."

"Uh, okay," Percy said, sitting down on the couch again. "Great?"

"All we want you to do now is become as involved as possible in the organization," Chiron said. "And you're actually doing a pretty great job."

Percy smiled.

"Well thanks, sir. I really appreciate it. But I probably should get going now anyway, I don't want Jupiter to get suspicious."

He rose from the couch once more.

"Hold on," Jason said. "Let's all get your phone number, just in case something comes up."

The teens all nodded in agreement, and they exchanged numbers.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later!" Percy waved, stepping out the door. "Bye!"

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That night, Percy walked into his new bedroom at Jupiter's headquarters, toweling off his hair, which was wet from the swimming pool. He quickly changed into his pajamas and jumped into bed. He stared at the canopy above him and sighed. So much had changed since just that morning.

_At least I have one thing to look forward to tomorrow,_ was his final thought before falling asleep_. I've got a date with Rachel!_

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**A/N**

**Hope you liked it:) Thanks for reading!:)  
Please review!**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	6. The Date

The next day, the whole afternoon was filled with combat practice and shooting instructions. By the time 6:00 came around, Percy was exhausted, but excited.

He went up to Rachel's room and knocked.

"Who is it?" came the quick reply.

"Percy!" he called. ""Ready to go?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute."

Percy turned around to wait and leaned on the balcony that overlooked the stairs.

Moments later, he heard her door open and he spun around.

He was pleasantly surprised. Instead of the tie dyed shirt and cutoff shorts Rachel was wearing that afternoon, she had changed into a flowing dark blue dress that came just past her knees. It was strapless, and she had put on a cream colored jacket over it. Red flats matched her red beaded bracelet. Her hair was in a simple but elegant up-do, completed with pearl bobby pins.

"Wow!" Percy stammered, "You look great!"

Rachel smiled. "Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself."

And in fact, he didn't. He had changed into a white button-down shirt and a pair of black slacks. He had combed his hair, and completed the look with a pair of patent leather loafers.

He held out his arm and she took it gracefully. They walked down the stairs, but stopped short when they heard a voice.

"Hey!"

The two spun around to see Frank and Leo standing at the top of the stairs with their arms crossed. They jogged down to Percy and Rachel.

"Just where do you think you're going with our girl?" Frank questioned.

"Um," Percy stammered. "I asked her out a couple of days ago, and I just assumed that-"

"That _what_? That you could just take her out from under us, with no one's permission?" Leo glared.

Percy glanced back and forth at the boys nervously. Then Frank, Leo, and Rachel burst out laughing.

"Oh my gosh, you dorks!" Rachel scolded teasingly, "You guys are_ so _embarrassing!"

"We're just lookin' out for you." Frank smiled. "We don't want anyone messing with our princess, do we Leo?"

Leo shook his head emphatically.

"So, wherever you're going, be back by nine o'clock," he said, with only a hint of sternness, "and then maybe we won't have to lock you both in the dungeon. In separate rooms, of course." he added with a wink. "Get going!"

Leo and Frank bounded off, leaving Percy smiling confusedly.

"Uh, well alright. Let's go."

He led her through the warehouse to the parking lot, where he opened the passenger door of his blue Mini for her, then walked around the front and slid into the driver's seat.

"So, where are we going?" she asked curiously.

"I know this great Italian restaurant," Percy said, "and afterwards I thought we might just take a walk down the harbor or something."

"Sounds good."

They drove in semi-awkward silence until he pulled up to the restaurant. They got out of the car and walked up through the doors. Percy had spent a good chunk of his first paycheck on this date, reserving a table on the back deck which overlooked the river.

"Reservation for Jackson?" he inquired of the receptionist.

"Jackson? Of course, right this way, sir," the waiter said after typing his name into the computer.

Percy straightened at being called "sir," and they followed the waiter to the nicest table in the restaurant, the one that was secluded from the others and had the best view of the river.

After they were seated, Rachel said admiringly, "Wow! Percy, this is really nice."

He smiled, happy that she was happy.

"Well, you know, I just thought I might as well do this right," he said, twiddling his thumbs.

She reached across the table and took hold of his hand.

"Well you sure _are _doing it right," she grinned at him, then picked up her menu. "So, what's good?"

Percy smiled awkwardly. "I've never actually been here before. I'm sure it's all good, though!" He picked up his own menu and flipped through it.

"It all looks fine to me. Why don't you order for both of us?" Rachel said, folding her menu.

Percy scanned the menu harder at this added pressure. He had been focusing so intently, that he jumped, startled, when he heard the waiter ask,

"Can I start you off with anything to drink?"

Rachel laughed as Percy took a few deep breaths. Percy ordered her a lemonade and himself a diet coke.

When the waiter returned moments later with their drinks on a tray, he asked them if they were ready for their food orders.

"Not yet!" Percy yelped, panicky.

Rachel smiled, bemused, and shook her head. She turned to the waiter and said, "He's just kidding, we know what we want. He'll have the lasagna, and I'll have the chicken ravioli."

The waiter nodded, collected their menus, and went to the kitchen.

Percy had an anxious look on his face, and Rachel had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

"Oh, relax already!" she said, kicking him lightly under the table. "This is supposed to be fun. Haven't you ever done this before?"

Percy looked down and shook his head, slightly embarrassed.

"Actually, no, not really. My parents were both cops, and they homeschooled me. I don't really have a lot of experience in this field," he shook his head awkwardly.

Rachel looked a little surprised, but she smiled encouragingly. "Well, you're doing great!" she leaned forward and rested her chin on her hands. "Where are your parents now?"

Percy sighed and turned his face downward. "They're dead."

"Oh!" Rachel sat up straight again. "I'm so sorry." She was silent for a moment. "What happened to them?"

"A couple years ago, they were about to make a huge arrest," Percy began. "They had been investigating a specific Hispanic crime family for a while. They were at the mob's doorstep, and they were backing each other up. Someone had left an anonymous tip that the mob was going to have a big meeting that night, but it was a trap. They had been set up. There were fifty hit-men in the building, and they gunned down twenty members of the police department, the entire division. The mob got away, and ever since then I've been living on my own. Mr. Hermes, my boss at the newspaper, is a family friend. He gave me that job because he was trying to look out for me and all. I've been doing alright, but things will get easier once I turn eighteen." He stopped his eyes from wandering and they locked squarely with hers. "And now that I'm part of this group, things have already gotten a lot better."

She smiled at him sadly but understandingly, as the waiter returned with their food.

"I know how you feel. Before Dionysus approached me with this job, I was barely getting by. When I ran away from home last year, the art store caught my eye and I had been working there for minimum wage. Dionysus and his operation totally changed my life." She looked away. "But now that I've got some money, I kind of want to move on. Maybe finish school and go to college," she smiled at him. "My dad always told me I'd make a great lawyer, like him."

Percy hesitated, then asked, "Why did you run away from home? I mean, you're only sixteen, it couldn't have been that bad if your parents had dreams for you."

Rachel looked sad, and said, "It wasn't bad. In fact, it was amazing. My parents loved me, and life was pretty great. But then when I was twelve, my dad was in a car accident. A drunk driver ran them both off a cliff, and they were both killed."

Percy reached for her hand.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

She shook her head. "Then things got worse. My mom married this horrible jerk, Steve, who absolutely hated me. Steve is a rich, lazy, good-for-nothing drunk. He was always beating me up, and calling me names, and making fun of me. One time I tried to call the cops on him, but I, um, have had some trouble with the police before, and they thought I was a liar," she sighed. "My mom only stayed with him for his money, and I'll never forgive her for that," she said bitterly. "One night, about a year ago, Steve caught me trying to sneak back in the house after I had been out with some friends. He had been waiting with a bonfire in the backyard." Rachel's eyes were getting teary. "He was burning all my art. All the drawings and paintings I had made, all the awards I had gotten for them, they were going up in flames. My mom tried to stop him, but he hit her and told her to go back inside. I tried to get him to stop, but he starting hitting me. I was sick and tired of being his punching bag, so I snatched the bottle of whiskey out of his hands and smashed it over his head. He was furious, so I ran for it. Haven't looked back," she finished quietly.

Percy didn't know what to say. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and she gave him a small smile.

"But none of that matters now," she said. "I'm over it, and I've got a new life to live."

"So," Percy smiled, "how's that mural coming along?"

The serious mood disappeared, and for the rest of the meal they talked about hobbies, experiences, and their new job.

When they had finished, Percy payed the tab and he escorted Rachel out. They were walking down main street when Rachel stopped.

"Ooh, let's get some ice cream!" she exclaimed, tugging his arm. "I know a place that's really good!"

Percy grinned and let her lead him to the ice cream shop. She ordered a chocolate shake, and Percy got a sundae. They walked over to the park to eat it, and found a bench to sit on.

"Mm, this is really good!" Percy said.

"Told you so," Rachel replied, sipping her shake.

"Wow, look at the sunset," Percy pointed out. "That's the prettiest one I've seen all summer."

"Nice."

When the sun had dipped down and they had finished their ice cream, they made their way back to the car. When they reached the warehouse, Rachel took Percy's hand again.

"Thanks," she said. "This was really nice. Pretty much the best night I've had in a long time."

Percy smiled at her. "No problem. I had a great time."

She nodded and got out of the car. Percy was a little disappointed in himself that he hadn't plucked up the courage to kiss her.

_Oh well, _he thought. _That's probably not the best move for me right now._

He glanced at his watch. It was 8:45. Good, he had gotten her back on time and he had gotten back in time to go with Frank on the drop. He headed inside to find him.

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**A/N**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it:)**

**Just thought I'd warn you now: I got a summer job that I'll be working 16+ hours a day for, 7 days a week which won't leave much time for writing:( It's at a camp in the woods with limited wifi, so no internet access, which means I'll be suspending all my stories from May 25th to August 3rd, sorry! I'll return and finish everything, though, I promise:)**

**Anyway, thanks again for reading, and for all the follows/favorites, they mean a lot:) **

**Please review:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	7. The Drop

Percy found Frank in the foyer, holding a suitcase.

"Hey, right on time," Frank said, surprised. "How'd it go?"

"Uh, great!" Percy answered. "I think she had fun."

"Well, don't get too used to taking her out," Frank advised. "She's got a new guy on her arm practically every weekend."

"Oh," Percy said, a little hurt.

"Anyway, here's the plan," Frank said, changing the subject. "The customer arranged to meet us at the abandoned shoe factory, you know, the one on State Street?"

Percy nodded.

"We're going to exchange 2 kilos of the stuff for $50,000," he explained. "It's gonna be pretty dangerous. I'm sure they're armed, and we're supposed to come alone- but Leo's been there since 7:00, just in case."

"In case of what?"

Frank looked at him sarcastically, "Well he's not there to join in in case they start a flash mob!"

"Whatever."

Just then, Rachel walked up, dressed all in black.

"Where are you going, Catwoman?" Percy joked.

"I'm coming with you dorks to make sure you don't screw anything up."

"What?!" Percy looked at Frank for help, but he shook his head.

"Well yeah," he shrugged. "She's our second backup, if anything goes wrong." He held up his hand as Percy protested. "She's perfectly capable of handling herself."

Percy gave him a crooked smile. "That I can believe."

Frank and Rachel both rolled their eyes.

"Come on," she said. "let's get this over with."

They headed for Rachel's red Mini Cooper and got in, with Frank driving, Percy in the passenger seat, and Rachel hiding in the backseat.

When they got to State Street, Frank turned into a side road. The warehouse loomed in the distance, looking ominous.

They pulled up and parked on the side. They all noticed Frank's black Mini Cooper hidden in the bushes.

"I swear, if Leo put one scratch on my car..." Frank muttered, heading for the door of the warehouse with Percy, Rachel trailing far behind.

It was dark inside, the only light coming in through a hole in the ceiling. Standing in the lone pool of moonlight was a man holding a briefcase.

"Hello," he said briskly. "I see you have followed my instructions."

"We did exactly," Frank replied.

"Excellent. Now slide that briefcase over towards me, nice and slowly."

Frank did, and the man opened it up and checked the contents.

"Ahh, very good," he said, obviously pleased.

"Now your turn," Frank said apprehensively.

The man smiled menacingly. "I don't think so," he said, picking up both briefcases in his left hand, "I'll be going now."

"Hey, we had a deal!" Frank said angrily.

Percy and Frank heard a rustling noise behind them. They whirled around towards the sound, and peered into the shadows.

"It's a trap!" Frank shouted to Percy, grabbing his arm. "Run!"

They started to sprint towards the exit, and Percy glanced behind him. The man that had refused to pay Frank was pulling out a gun from his jacket, and he took aim.

"Stop right there!" he roared. "If you take one more step, I guarantee it'll be your last!"

Percy and Frank froze.

"Very good. Now put your hands in the air and slowly walk towards me," the man ordered.

They did as they were told and came to a halt in front of him. He motioned to the corner, and suddenly six big men stepped into the light.

"Tie them up and take care of them," the man instructed his bodyguards, still keeping the gun trained on the boys.

Percy looked over at Frank, whose face was screwed up in concentration. He was trying to time this perfectly.

Just as the thugs stepped closer to grab them, Frank shouted "Now!" and pulled Percy to the floor.

Instantly, from somewhere above came a muffled gunshot, and the man yelled and dropped his gun in surprise, cradling his arm.

Frank and Percy immediately went into action, sweeping the first thug off his feet sending him crashing into a second, knocking them both out cold. They stood back to back, punching and dodging attacks from the remaining four.

Meanwhile, Rachel darted out from around the corner and snatched up the man's gun. She also grabbed his suitcase full of money and their suitcase full of drugs. She ran out of the warehouse to where they had parked the cars, when she ran into a seventh body guard.

He tried to take her packages, but she spun around and kicked him in the kneecap, sending him to the ground. But as she tried to step around him, he grabbed her ankle, tripping her.

Just then, Leo came around the corner, and hit the bodyguard in the head with the butt of his rifle and knocked him out. Leo grabbed Rachel's arm and hauled her to her feet, pushing her towards the parked cars.

"Get in, go!" he said, opening the door of her red Mini. "You need to get that stuff out of here!"

She nodded. "Be careful," she insisted, then sped away.

Leo ran back inside to help Frank and Percy, but he almost ran into them as they both rounded the corner.

"Time to go!" Frank said, running towards his black Mini Cooper.

The three of them hopped in and raced away, just as two of the thugs halfheartedly ran after them.

"Not too scary for your first run, right newbie?" Leo said jokingly.

"What, that?" Percy gestured to the men running in the distance. "Happens all the time. No big deal."

They all grinned as Frank sped back to the mansion.

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When they arrived, they reunited with Rachel and went up and knocked on Dionysus's office door, where he was waiting for them.

"How did it go?" he asked, after he had unlocked the door.

The explained what had happened. Dionysus was initially furious when he heard they had almost been double-crossed, but his anger melted away when he saw that he had both his drugs and the money.

"Not bad, kids," Dionysus said appreciatively. "I might even give you all a raise."

Frank rolled his eyes, "Yeah right. Like_ that's _going to happen."

Dionysus gave him a sharp look, but then said, "You're right. I already pay you too much." Then he reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a little blue book. "We won't be dealing with them anymore," he muttered, crossing out something in the book. Then he looked up at them.

"Well? Is that all?" he asked impatiently.

They nodded.

"Then_ scram_! Get to bed," he said, pointing towards the door.

The teens scurried out, and Dionysus shut the door on their heels, locking it.

"Well, I feel_ really _appreciated," Percy said sarcastically.

Rachel gave him an amused look and said, "Don't expect Dionysus to heap on the praise. It's usually a good sign when he pretends to offer us a raise."

"Yeah, any time he doesn't physically throw us out of his office is a good thing," Leo added.

"I'll remember that," Percy laughed. "Well, I'm off to bed. I'll see you all in the morning!"

They all went upstairs to their rooms.

In his bedroom, Percy sent a group text to Chiron and the rest of Olympus to tell them that the drop was successful, and he'd tell them about it tomorrow. They all sent him congratulations texts except for Michael, who sent him a text that read "omg I wuz sleeping!"

Percy fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	8. Investigating

The next morning after breakfast, Percy headed out the door.

"Where're you going?"

Percy whirled around to see Frank eyeing him suspiciously.

"Oh, my boss at the newspaper wanted me to come in early today," Percy lied. "I probably won't be back until late, he said he has a bunch of stuff for me to do."

Frank laughed, "Have fun being a slave! But make sure you find out if there's going to be any extra security patrolling Bates Park tonight, if you know what I mean," he added.

"Will do!" Percy promised, then headed to the garage for his Mini Cooper, relieved. He had never been very good at lying, but Frank seemed to buy his story easily. He started his car, and headed for 24601 Park Lane.

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When he walked into Chiron's house a few minutes later, all the boys were there and they looked happy to see him.

"So how'd it go?" Michael asked first.

Percy grinned at him. "You didn't seem too curious about it last night," he teased.

"It was 1:00 in the morning!" Michael said indignantly. "Who texts then?"

They all shook their heads at him.

"So how did it go?" Jason asked again.

Percy told the story to them, and everyone listened intently.

"But after we told Dionysus what happened, he had this little blue book in his desk drawer," he finished, "and he took it out and crossed something off, like it was a record book of some sort."

Chiron looked interested. "You know what that means, right kid?"

Percy looked at him and guessed, "You want me to get ahold of that book?"

"Exactly."

Percy sighed, "It's not going to be easy, it'll probably take a few days. Dionysus is in his office all the time, and he has this complex lock on his door. I don't know if I'll be able to break in."

"I can help with that," Annabeth said. "We can do a video chat and I'll probably be able to tell you what to do if I can see it."

"Great," Chiron said. "Percy, we need to get that book. Every criminal keeps some kind of record, and this sounds like it's it. Kind of old fashioned for a crook like Dionysus, but that book is going to be crucial to our case in court. If it has a record of shipments and sales, it could be the break we need to wrap this case up."

"I know, I'll do my best," Percy said.

"Since Percy's been doing his part of the job, it's time for us to do ours," Jason said. "Do you think you could tell is exactly where that warehouse is? Maybe we can pick up some clues and catch up with the buyers."

Percy nodded and tried to give a good description.

"Thanks," Jason said. "We'll head over there and check it out. Come on guys," he rose and motioned to Annabeth and Michael.

"Not so fast," Chiron stopped them. "Make sure to check in with me every forty-five minutes. If you don't, I'm going to come after you and drag your butts back here."

"'Kay boss-o," Michael said cheerfully.

Chiron rolled his eyes. "Just be back here in three hours."

"Yupp boss-o."

"And don't call me 'boss-o!'"

"Okay, boss-o."

And the trio went outside and drove away in their police van.

Chiron turned to Percy."So, you know what to do, just do it as quick as possible."

Percy rose to leave. "I'm on it, boss-o."

"Really, kid?"

"Really really."

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Jason was trying to get to the warehouse.

"Did he say go right at the first stop sign, or straight?" he asked, confused.

"Pretty sure it was left," Michael said."And it wasn't a stop sign, he said stoplight."

"No no, he said something about an intersection!" Annabeth chipped in. "You were supposed to make a U-turn."

"Yeah, and then you go down a hill," Michael supplied not so helpfully.

"I could've sworn he said something about a boat shop."

"No, dummy, he said coat shop!"

"Actually, maybe it was vote stop..."

"Shut up!" Jason cut in. "You guys are not helping! And we passed the coat shop 5 miles ago."

They eventually arrived at the warehouse several minutes later, due to what Michael said must have been "Divine intervention."

"Alright guys," Jason said, pleased that they had arrived at last. "Split up and search for clues!"

All three of them entered the warehouse and started examining different parts of the large room.

"I got blood over here," Annabeth called, "I'll try to get a sample, maybe the computers can get a match."

"Nice job, Annabeth," Jason called back. "I found some bullet casings over here."

"Oh my gosh!" Michael shouted.

"What?" Annabeth and Jason yelled to him. "You got something?"

"Yeah! Whoever those bodyguards were, they chewed a lot of gum. These crates are coated with it! Nasty!"

"Ugh. Gross. Thanks for sharing," Jason called sarcastically. "Let us know if you find anything useful." "Oh, sorry," Michael said quietly. But a few moments later he shouted, "Are tire tracks useful?"

"What? Let me see!"

Annabeth and Jason walked over to where Michael was at the backdoor of the building. Sure enough, there were two sets of tire tracks leading down a dirt path into the woods.

"Huh. Nice work, buddy," Jason said, ruffling his hair.

Michael smiled. "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go!"

The three of them headed down the dirt road.

After walking a couple of miles, they came upon a small cabin. The windows were dark, but they cautiously approached it.

Jason made silent motions for the others to follow behind him, then they ran around the side of the door and pressed their backs to the wall. Jason stretched his arm out and slowly turned the knob, and the door swung open.

He slowly peeked around the corner, then entered the building.

"All clear!" he called out to them after a quick search. They all entered the cabin and gathered together.

"So what do you think this is?" Michael asked.

"It looks like a hideout," Jason answered, looking around. "Probably belongs to the drug dealers. We should search this place quickly, before they get back."

"How do you know they're coming back?" Michael questioned.

"Well, check it out," Annabeth said, walking over to a coffee table. "If they had left for good they wouldn't have left their wallets."

"Oh, right."

They looked inside the wallets and found a fake I.D. in each of them, along with a stack of

fifty-dollar bills.

The rest of the search of the cabin turned up several fingerprints and a few guns.

"Hey, I'm gonna run back to the van and get a bug," Annabeth said. "Who knows, when they come back maybe we can find something useful. We'll have to come back with a warrant anyway."

"Good idea," Jason said. "We'll keep a lookout for you."

While Annabeth headed back to the van for the listening devices, Jason texted Chiron to let him know they were alright. Chiron texted back, "U better B. I hate paperwork."

Annabeth came back out of breath half an hour later.

"Got 'em," she said holding out her palm. She placed the bugs in various places throughout the cabin and said, "I don't know how good the signal will be since this place is so secluded, but we should be able to hear some."

"Nice job," Jason said, glancing up at the sky. "It's getting dark though, we should probably get home before these guys come back."

Michael led the way up the trail and they headed back to Chiron's house.

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That night, Percy had a stroke of luck. He had told Chiron to make sure there were no cops on patrol at Bates park, and he had come through apparently. Dionysus and Frank left the mansion at 6:00 to meet the customers there, and Rachel and Leo had gone out to see the new superhero movie.

"Are you sure you don't wanna come?" Leo asked for the third time as he and Rachel were heading out the door.

"Nawh, you guys go have fun. I kind of have a headache, so I might go to bed early," Percy lied. "See you later!"

The two of them left, and Percy was left alone in the mansion, apart from the servants.

He took the stairs two at a time until he got to the third floor, where Dionysus's office was. There was some kind of electronic keypad next to the door. It had a touch screen and a small keyhole on it. Percy pulled out his phone and started a video chat with Annabeth.

Annabeth's face came up on the screen.

"Hey, that was fast!" she remarked. "I thought you said this would take a couple days."

"I got lucky," Percy responded. "Everyone left for the evening. Now take a look at this," he said, turning the phone towards the door. "I've never seen anything like it before."

Annabeth looked it over for a few seconds.

"Oh, this should be no problem," she said offhandedly. "That's just a fingerprint scanner, and the keyhole you can just pick like a regular lock."

"No problem?" Percy asked skeptically, "How do I get past the fingerprint scanner?"

"Do you have any powdery stuff? Maybe like some makeup?" Annabeth asked.

"Dude, seriously, why would you ask me if I had makeup?"

"Well you need to find some!" Annabeth said patiently. "Dust or dirt works too, but it looks too obvious and you can't wipe it off. Light blush or mineral foundation works best. Didn't you say there's a girl there? Maybe you can get some from her."

"Oh, yeah," Percy said, "Let me go check her room."

He felt kind of strange going into her room without her permission. When he entered, he had to stop and stare for a minute at the mural she had almost completed. It was an ocean scene, with a spectacular sunset. It looked almost real, like Percy could just jump in the water, and he almost felt a sea mist.

"Hey, Percy?" Annabeth said from his phone. " What're you doing?"

"Oh, sorry!"

Percy went into Rachel's bathroom and carefully searched through her drawers. They weren't organized, and he came across several weird things: a glow stick, three plastic forks, a pair of sunglasses, some duct tape, a spatula, and a rubix cube.

"What the...?" he muttered, closing that drawer and opening another.

Finally, he found a small bag, shoved in the corner of the bottom drawer. It had a few tubes of lipstick, concealer, and foundation.

"Got it," he told Annabeth, holding up the jar of foundation, "Will this do?"

"Perfect. Grab a piece of toilet paper while you're in there."

Percy ripped off a couple of squares and, after putting everything back in it's place, went back out to Dionysus's office.

"What now?"

"Okay, shake some powder into your hand, and gently blow it onto the scanner," she instructed.

Percy did, and the scanner was coated in a light layer of foundation. He could see the outline of the last fingerprint Dionysus had made.

"Now take the toilet paper and press your thumb against it to the biggest fingerprint you see."

Percy obeyed, and he heard a beep and a green light appeared over the scanner.

"Sweet, thanks!" he told Annabeth.

"No problem," Annabeth smiled. "Good luck!"

They ended the video call, and Percy proceeded to pick the lock on the keypad with a bobby pin. Within seconds, the door swung open.

He crossed the room and stood behind Dionysus's desk. It was all neatly organized, with a laptop, pads of paper, and a pencil cup on it. Percy opened up the laptop, but it was password protected, and he didn't have the faintest idea what it was. He used the bottom of his shirt to wipe off his fingerprints, then closed the laptop again.

He hesitated before opening his drawers, because he felt like a criminal. First breaking and entering, now snooping through his stuff? He shook his head. The thought was ridiculous. Dionysus is a criminal, he told himself, and I'm helping put him behind bars. Then he opened the first drawer.

There was nothing in there except for a plastic spoon and a small key.

"What is with these people and keeping utensils in their drawers?" Percy muttered, closing it.

The next drawer had several manilla folders in it. He was about to shut it, when a name caught his eye.

His name.

Percy Jackson.

Curiously, he picked it up and flipped through it. There were several pictures of him playing guitar in front of the art store. There were also pictures of him in the newspaper office, of him walking down the street, even a few of him in front of his old apartment.

There was a short biography about him:

Name: Perseus Jackson

Age: 17

Birthdate: 08/18/1996

Height: 5"9

Weight: 135 lbs

Status: Orphan

Hometown: Manhattan, New York

Parents are Sally Jackson (policewoman) and Gabe Ugliano (policeman), both deceased. Only child.

Several notes had been scrawled on the bottom in Dionysus's handwriting.

"Shows potential, but may have too strong a moral ethic," one note read. Another said "Observed him returning change ($0.08) to the supermarket. On his way home, observed him almost get mugged. He easily fended of the attacker, but only punched when he had to. Strange."

Percy remembered that day. After returning the change, he ran into a guy who tried to steal his money. He had had none on him, so the mugger tried to beat him up instead. Percy had tried to convince him to stop, but when it became clear that he wouldn't, he'd had no choice but to punch back, sending the attacker running.

Dionysus had also added more recent notes about him, such as, "Passed all tests without difficulty. Showing definite promise, and seems trustworthy."

He put the folder back and checked his watch. He decided he had enough time and picked up another folder, Rachel Dare's.

There were several pictures of her, most of them showing her yelling at someone off-camera, or making obscene gestures. However, a few showed her smiling and holding hands with various teenage boys, and Percy felt a twinge of jealously. He quickly flipped to her bio.

Name: Rachel Elizabeth Dare

Age: 16

Birthdate: 05/29/1996

Height: 5"0

Weight: 100 lbs

Status: Confirmed runaway

Hometown: Manhattan, New York

Father is Andrew Dare (Land developer), presumed dead. Stepfather is Steven Calloway (heir of Midway Electronics, unemployed). Only child.

Some of the notes that Dionysus had scribbled at the bottom were amusing to Percy, such as "This one bites, stay far away." and "Witnessed stranger step on her heel today. Note to self: avoid doing so at all costs." Percy smiled, imagining what had happened. But other notes had a more serious tone, such as "Has an extreme distrust of strangers, must approach with caution," and "Participates in destructive behaviors." Percy frowned, wondering what those were.

He read on in the file and discovered that she was the highest paid operative. The reason why was scrawled next to it: "Must keep her working for me. Her deceptive skills are unnervingly good, and she has become indispensable."

Percy raised his eyebrows as he finished with her file. He picked up the folder labeled "Frank Zhang," and looked through it.

Name: Frank Zhang

Age: 18

Birthdate: 03/17/1994

Height: 5"11

Weight: 165 lbs

Status: Presumed runaway

Hometown: Canada

The only note Dionysus had written about him was, "Look into getting this kid professional boxing lessons- potential profit."

Percy rolled his eyes. Sure, Frank could fight pretty well, but he was positive he wouldn't go for the idea of boxing to make Dionysus more money.

He glanced over Frank's surveillance pictures, then put his file down.

He picked up the last one: Leo Valdez. Percy flipped through his photos and stopped to read his biography.

Name: Leo Johnson, A. K. A. Leo Valdez

Age: 17

Birthdate: 02/14/1995

Height: 5"8

Weight: 130 lbs

Status: Presumed runaway: disowned by family

Hometown: The Bronx, New York

Parents are Rosabella Abelie and Vincenzo Ernesto Valdez, head of the Valdez family crime syndicate. One sister, Abelie (10). "

Percy's heart stopped, and his deep blue eyes widened in disbelief. Valdez. The name sent a jolt down his spine. It was the name of the crime syndicate that had killed his parents.

What is Leo doing here? he wondered. If his parents are the head of the Valdez syndicate, shouldn't Leo be with them, training to take over or something? Percy decided he would have to ask Leo about that, and soon.

He carefully put all the files back and opened another drawer. There was a fireproof box inside. Percy picked it up, but it was locked. He didn't think he could pick the lock, as it required a strangely shaped key, when he remembered that there had been a key in one of the drawers!

He found the key next to the plastic spoon, and tried to open the lock. It fit perfectly, and the box gave a satisfying click as the lid popped open.

Inside was the blue book. Percy picked it up and flipped through the pages. It was full of business names and bank account numbers, transaction dates, and receipts.

"Yes!" Percy said softly, congratulating himself. He took out his phone and began taking pictures of each page. After getting a photograph of everything, Percy carefully put the book back in the box, locked it, and wiped his fingerprints off it. Then he cleaned off the key and placed it back in it's drawer. He straightened up everything on Dionysus's desk, making sure that it was exactly how he had left it, then he left the office, closing the door behind him.

He then went back into Rachel's bathroom and replaced her foundation, then retreated to his room to wait for everyone to get back.

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**A/N**

**Well I hope y'all liked it:) Thanks for reading!**

**Please review:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	9. Leo's Story

When everyone got back, it was well past midnight. They all went to their rooms, but since Percy could hear the tv on in Leo's room, he went and knocked on his door.

"It's open!" Leo called softly.

"Hey," Leo, who had been sitting on his bed, said when Percy walked in. He saw the serious expression on his face and switched the tv off. "What's up?"

"We need to talk."

"Go for it."

Percy took a deep breath. "What I'm about to talk to you about cannot leave this room, alright? You can't tell anybody, especially not Dionysus."

Leo laughed. "What, you think we don't keep secrets from Dionysus? He has no idea about half of the stuff we say or do."

Percy hesitated, then said, "I broke into his office today."

Leo raised his eyebrows. "Seriously, that's it? We've all done that! Did you read those creepy files he has on us? Stalker!"

"Oh," Percy said, surprised. "Well never mind then. But I saw your file, Leonardo."

Leo blushed. "You can't say you honestly thought my name was just Leo."

Percy shrugged.

"Anyway, what about it?" Leo asked.

"I can't believe you're related to the Valdez family!" Percy blurted out.

Leo's eyes went hard and he looked away.

"Not anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"They disowned me." Leo stated. "I didn't want to become a murderer."

"Well, that's what they are." Percy said. "Your family killed my parents!"

Leo looked up sharply. "What?"

"On March 4th, two years ago." Percy told him. "They were cops, and they were killed by your relatives."

Leo stared at him in shock. He remembered that night. It was just over two years ago, and his parents had taken him with them, as always, to a meeting.

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"Listo para ir?" Alejandro Valdez had asked his son in Spanish.

"Sí, papá," Leonardo answered, cleaning his rifle.

Rosabella rushed in, wearing a fancy dress and jewelry. She was a beautiful woman, with dark hair that fell to her shoulders and curled like a movie star's. Her large green eyes were exactly like her son's, and her lips were stained a deep red.

"Alejandro, Leonardo," she scolded, "English! English! We are in America now, we must speak the language if we want to get anywhere here!"

"Yes, mother," Leonardo sighed.

"My Bella," Alejandro said charmingly, sweeping her into a hug, "We will speak the English outside, but in our home Spanish is fine, no?"

"No," she answered firmly, swatting his hands away, "Always English. Now be ready in two minutes, I'll be in the car." She briskly walked out the front door.

"Mujer impaciente," Alejandro muttered, shaking his head.

Rosabella's head popped back through the door.

"I heard that!" she called. "And I'm not impatient! One minute!" then she slammed the door.

"Yes she is," Alejandro whispered to his son with a wink, "but that is why I love her."

Leonardo grinned.

"Let's get going, rapidamente!" Leonardo said, heading for the door with his rifle slung over his shoulder.

"Wait, Papá!"

Alejandro turned around to face his eight year old daughter, Abelie. She looked up at him with sad eyes.

"Please, may I go too this time? I won't get in the way!"

Her father shook his head and said, "No, Abelie. Not this time. Perhaps next time."

She pouted and he kissed the top of her head.

"Alejandro!" Rosabella's voice called.

"I'm coming!"

Alejandro hurried out, and Leonardo gave his sister a quick hug.

"Be patient. We'll take you with us soon enough."

She grabbed his hand.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Then he followed his father out the door.

The family got into their Cadillac Escalade, and the driver took them to a building in the heart of the Bronx.

Alejandro was the head of the Valdez crime syndicate. He had been coaching Leonardo since he was three years old so that he could one day take his place. Every time they had a meeting, he brought Leonardo along so he could practice his bodyguard skills. Even though he was only fifteen, Leonardo had some serious skill in handling guns, and Alejandro couldn't have been more proud.

However, this meeting was different. The cops had been hammering down on them, and were getting close to shutting down their illegal arms trade. It had been a secret operation for the cops, but Alejandro had worked out a plan to get out of hot water.

He had arranged for one of the family members to get caught by the police in a fake convenience store robbery. The member had fed the cops a story about all the head in the Valdez family holding a meeting tonight, which was true. But he also told the cops that there would only be eight of them in all- four chairmen with one bodyguard each; that was where he lied. He warned Alejandro that the cops were sending twenty men for them that night, but Alejandro wasn't worried.

"No problem, I have it all under control." he told the concerned member.

So that night, when twenty policemen were on their way to the building the meeting was supposedly being held in, fifty gunmen were waiting.

Inside the building, Alejandro was resting comfortably on a chair, smoking a cigar. His wife was lounging on the couch beside him, sipping champagne.

Leonardo however, was getting edgy.

"Papá, what's happening?" he asked, "What are we doing here?"

Alejandro patted his son's curly hair.

"Tonight, Leonardo, you are going to make me proud."

Leonardo was persistent, "Exactly how will I make you proud?"

Alejandro explained the whole story to Leonardo, who was horrified.

"And the stupido police believed him!" Alejandro laughed, "Now, the cops will learn what happens when they mess with Alejandro Ernesto Valdez!" he finished, jabbing the air with his cigar, scattering ashes on Leonardo.

"What?!" Leonardo asked incredulously. "They're going to kill them?"

"Yes, of course, my son," Alejandro said, confused, "And you will be with them, helping!"

Rosabella sat up straight on the couch.

"Leonardo," she said gently, "Those people are trying to destroy our business. We can not let them do that to out family. Don't you want to make us proud?"

"No!" Leonardo yelled at them, "This is horrible! You're both horrible!"

Rosabella reached out and slapped Leonardo across the face. He glared at her with steely eyes and she slapped him again, harder.

"Don't talk to your Mamá that way, Leonardo!" she spat. "You will respect your parents and do as we say!"

Leonardo could hear sirens coming down the street.

"No!" Leonardo said, throwing down his rifle. "Not this. I refuse." He turned to his father, who was staring at him blankly. "How could you make your own son do this?" he pleaded.

Alejandro gave him a sharp glare. "Since you refused, then I have no son." he said coldly, and turned away.

His words stung Leonardo, and he took a step back.

The men were getting their guns into a firing position now.

"No!" Leonardo yelled, sprinting for the door.

He ran outside and collided with a female cop with startlingly green eyes. They stared at each other for a moment, then Leonardo yelled, "Run! Everyone get out of here! It's a trap!"

Leonardo heard his father yell something in Spanish. He heard a gunshot and cried out as he felt a slicing pain in his left arm. He clutched it and spun around, just in time to see the cop get hit with a rain of bullets, and she fell to the ground.

There was nothing else Leonardo could do. He turned and ran for it, still clutching his wounded arm.

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"I'm so sorry," Leo said, misty-eyed. "That's why I thought you looked familiar. Your eyes are just like your mom's"

Percy sighed sadly. "I know they are. And it's okay, it's not your fault. I can see you're not really one of them."

Leo shook his head guiltily. "Still, I know my family is horrible. I'm really sorry about your parents."

Percy nodded. "Thanks, man. And for the record, it was really brave of you to stand up to your dad like that."

Leo gave him a small smile.

"Well, I'll see you in the morning, Leonardo." Percy said, getting up from the chair he had been sitting in and heading for the door,

Leo groaned and stuck out his tongue. "Please. Just Leo."

Percy grinned. "Night dude, it's 3:30 and I'm sure Dionysus's got something horribly strenuous planned for us bright and early!"

"Don't I know it," Leo said, falling onto his pillow and turning off his lamp.


End file.
